Espanyol captain talks Huijsen red card, refereeing, Real Madrid penalties – ‘Because they’re very good’ | OneFootball

After their 2-1 win over Olympique de Marseille in the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid will return to action in La Liga on Saturday, when they take on RCD Espanyol.

It will be a clash between the table-toppers and the third-placed team in the league, with Catalans making a solid start to the new campaign.

Indeed, Espanyol are just two points and two places behind Real Madrid, who have won four in four so far his season in the league.

Leading up to the game, though, there has been a lot of noise surrounding the refereeing in La Liga, especially with Real Madrid escalating their efforts to bring in a reform after Dean Huijsen’s controversial red card.

The youngster was sent off wrongly in the game vs Real Sociedad, with the Referees’ Technical Committee (CTA) acknowledging as much, despite which he has been given a one-match ban.

Javi Puado on Real Madrid, refereeing

When asked for his opinion on the matter, Espanyol captain Javi Puado stated that while he would prefer to see red cards that are given wrongly get annulled, it was unlikely to happen in this case.

“For me, it’s fair that if it wasn’t a yellow card or a straight red card, it should be removed. But nowadays, with VAR… There are actions that are determined, and then it’s hard to get it removed,” he said, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.

“I don’t think they’ll take it away. We have to think about our own affairs.”

There was some element of controversy regarding Real Madrid’s midweek win over Marseille, with the French club questioning the second penalty that was awarded to Los Blancos.

When asked why Real Madrid are awarded more penalties by match officials, Puado responded by saying:

“Because they’re very good and they get through a lot. It’s normal.”

Huijsen to miss the Espanyol game through suspension. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

On whether there is any fear about the refereeing aspect heading into the weekend clash against Real Madrid, the Espanyol captain replied:

“No, not at all. We try to play our game. There are things we can’t control, although we fully trust the referees. Whether it’s Madrid or any other team, we think about ourselves. Not about the refereeing aspect.”

Commenting further on the refereeing and how there seems to be a change in criteria from game to game, Puado noted:

“We have to be prepared. We see things in one game that are called one way, and then in another, they’re called another way. There are handballs that can’t be called, and they’re called. And vice versa.

“Referees make mistakes too, it’s normal. We have to try to do our best, so they don’t harm us, and so we get the win.”

Going in with confidence

Espanyol defeated Real Madrid at their home ground last season and Puado expressed confidence that they can achieve a similar outcome at the Bernabeu on Saturday if they play to the best of their abilities.

“The schedule is what it is, tough matches are coming up. We’re up against a very tough team; it’s very difficult to beat them at their ground, but we did it at ours last year. We have a chance if we play a ’10’ performance,” he said.

Continuing, the Espanyol captain added: “We’re coming in with a good momentum, playing good matches. But going to the Bernabéu is always difficult. Some years we’ve started winning, but then they come back. The quality of the players is enormous.

“Everything depends on playing a ’10’ or ‘100’ match, and they don’t have the best day. We’re going in with confidence.”